There is a saying in politics: "There are no permanent friends or permanent enemies – just permanent interests."

Now, in their relentless campaign to get driver's licenses issued to illegal immigrants, Latino activists in California bring to mind a slightly different phrasing: "If you don't know who your friends are, you'll make enemies. And that just isn't in your best interest."

Those activists have a new foil: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who last week vetoed legislation that would have restored driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. That's right – restored. State legislators had already provided licenses once before, but the law was repealed and the governor who signed the bill was run out of office.

Even so, Schwarzenegger said he was willing to restore the licenses. But he also threatened to put the kibosh on any bill that didn't address his concerns over national security by, say, placing a distinguishing mark on driver's licenses issued to illegal immigrants.

The idea was silly, and it probably helped convince Democrats that they could score political points at the governor's expense. So they sent Schwarzenegger a bill they knew he wouldn't sign. And when he vetoed it, they did what they were probably itching to do all along: Paint the Republican governor as anti-immigrant.

Huh? The Republican governor of California is an immigrant.

A liberal letter writer sent me an e-mail this week, insisting that it's possible to be both an immigrant and immigrant-hater. Schwarzenegger is the sort of immigrant who closes the door after him, he said. Another letter writer suggested that history is filled with people "selling out their own" once they themselves are comfortable.

Malarkey. You know Democrats are running low on material when they begin to sound like an installment of Jerry Springer. "On our next show, self-hating immigrants who sell out their own kind."

Here's a reality check. While the activists may not want to hear this, Schwarzenegger is not their enemy. The sooner they figure that out, the better. Maybe they missed Schwarzenegger's speech at the Republican convention, where he credited America for his success and extended his hand to the foreign-born.

Here's what he said: "America gave me opportunities and my immigrant dreams came true. I want other people to get the same chances I did, the same opportunities. And I believe they can."

That sure doesn't sound like closing the door. More like rolling out the red carpet.

Too bad that Democrats are more interested in playing politics than solving problems. But Latinos shouldn't get sucked into that. Those who care about protecting immigrants' rights would be wise not to alienate Schwarzenegger.

The governor has obvious empathy for immigrants, and these days, immigrants need all the friends they can get. A group called the California Republican Assembly is about to start collecting signatures for an initiative that would bar illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses – distinguishing mark or no distinguishing mark. The initiative, which supporters hope to put on the ballot in March 2006, would also prevent illegal immigrants from receiving any public benefits not required by federal law – from welfare checks to housing subsidies to lower in-state college tuition rates. The initiative is a ghastly idea that, if approved by voters, stands to do the Golden State much more harm than good.

Yet the truth is that the idea of giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants is not much better.

Americans shouldn't be going out of their way to accommodate illegal immigrants – or when you really get down to it, those Americans who employ them – by making life in the United States comfortable for people who shouldn't be here.

I'm not sure all immigrants get that. After Schwarzenegger's veto, a television news crew for a Spanish-language network descended on the streets of Los Angeles to gauge public reaction. A Latina, identified as undocumented, said she thought the governor had done a terrible thing and that she felt discriminated against.

Bingo, se×ora. You are being discriminated against. You're being singled out because you came here illegally. And when you decided to do so, you accepted – whether you realized it or not – the likelihood that you wouldn't experience all the privileges enjoyed by native-born Americans, legal residents and naturalized U.S. citizens. In this case, that includes the right to drive legally on U.S. roadways.

Immigrants living in America used to think in terms of opportunities. Now, more and more, they think in terms of entitlements.